In memory of our brother and son, Robert Bagnell,
who died moments after being tasered by police in Vancouver, British Columbia on June 23, 2004. Bob was the 7th Canadian to die and the 110th in North America.

WELCOME to TRUTH ... not TASERS

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

A MAN who died after being Tasered by police was struck in the chest by the device despite a worldwide warning from the manufacturer that officers should aim elsewhere on the body.

The man, a Vietnamese national believed to be in his 20s, was hit once by the Taser probes as he ran at two officers while allegedly carrying two long-bladed knives at his Sefton home in Sydney's west.

Police went to the home after reports he had sexually assaulted the woman he shared the Helen Street unit with.

Advertisement: Story continues belowA review by senior police of footage shows the man, who officers say was drunk, being struck in the chest by the Taser from a distance of two to three metres.

Last October, Taser International issued a new ''Targeting Guide'' recommending law enforcement agencies should, where possible, aim at the lower torso or back.

''When possible, avoiding chest shots with ECDS [electronic controlled devices] [which] avoids the controversy about whether ECDS do or do not affect the human heart,'' the training bulletin reads.

A police spokesman said that advice related to an ''ideal situation''. He said officers were trained to shoot for the lower torso while avoiding the head and groin. ''However, in this split-second environment a shot to the chest area is considered an effective method of disabling an offender,'' he said.

The Sefton man is the second person to die after a confrontation with police in as many days.

Steven Bosevski, 35, died in the early hours of Monday after clashing with police while celebrating at St George Leagues Club.

The Police Commissioner, Andrew Scipione, said a review of that incident had shown Mr Bosevski struck a police officer in the face with a glass bottle.

He rejected claims made by the man's family that officers struck the Dragons fan in the head, saying all baton strikes were to Mr Bosevski's ''knees and legs''. This was supported by security footage and preliminary autopsy results.

In separate incident on Sunday, a man was placed in a drug-induced coma with severe head injuries after being struck with a Taser while naked in a domestic dispute on the Central Coast. Police said the man was armed with a broken wine glass and was Tasered before running from a unit, tripping and falling down a stairwell before hitting his head.

Mr Scipione backed the actions taken by the constable at Sefton, saying he acted appropriately in a ''life-threatening situation''. ''In a split second the officers involved made a decision which I believe may have saved their lives.''

A Deputy Commissioner, Dave Owens, who viewed footage taken by the Taser camera, said officers told the man to drop the knives but he continued to run at them.

The officers had only seconds to respond, he said. The man collapsed after being struck and officers spent 20 minutes trying to revive him but he later died in Liverpool Hospital.

The man's death has prompted calls by the NSW Greens for an independent inquiry into the use of Tasers by police. The Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, said there were still cases where there were ''big question marks'' on whether police should have used a Taser.

The Premier, Kristina Keneally, backed their use, saying more often than not drawing a Taser was deterrent enough. She said police often had to make ''split-second decisions, often in very difficult circumstances''.

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taser-Related Deaths = 1043+ in North America

See "A LIST OF THE DEAD"According to Taser International, the taser had nothing to do with any of these deaths. According to a Reuters investigation, Shock Tactics - Part 1 - The Toll, published on August 22, 2017, more than 150 autopsy reports have cited tasers as the cause or contributor to deaths across the U.S. That number may be higher; however medical examiners and coroners are often not impartial but are instead biased in favour of the Crown or, as has been shown, they are under tremendous pressure from - among others - Taser International, to make a particular finding.See Judge rules for Taser in cause-of-death decisions

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Taser International finally admits risk that their weapons may affect the human heart

RCMP - TASERS POTENTIALLY LETHAL

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My Brother - Robert Bagnell June 27, 1959 - June 23, 2004

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2) Until such time as independent and unbiased study into the "real world" safety implications of Tasers has been properly completed, a moratorium must be imposed upon these weapons.

3) If, after independent and unbiased study has been completed, the Taser is going to remain in the police arsenal, it must be placed at a level equal to lethal force on the continuum of force and used only as a second-to-last resort.

4) Safety standards must be developed for Tasers. There are currently no Canadian safety standards in place for this weapon.

5) Police must not be allowed to investigate themselves but must be subject to independent and unbiased civilian oversight.

6) Families of people who die in police custody in Canada must be provided with funding so that they may be properly represented by legal counsel.

07. Robert Bagnell, 44 – Vancouver, BC - June 23, 2004 - X26 - "Official" cause of death: Consistent with restraint-associated cardiac arrest due to acute cocaine intoxication and psychosis. Bob's autopsy report showed marks on his body consistent to multiple taser shots, which incidently could not be affirmed by the pathologist because she could not explain those marks.

09. Samuel Truscott, 43 – Kingston, ON - August 8, 2004 - X26 - "Official" cause of death: Heart attack cause by drug overdose and "I can state categorically that the Taser did not play any role whatsoever in his death" said Chief Coroner for Ontario, Jim Cairns

24. Michael Langan, 17, Winnipeg, MB - July 22, 2008 - tasered 1 time - the autopsy report says Langan's death was caused by a heart arrhythmia brought on by the Taser shocks

25. Sean Reilly, 42 - Brampton, ON - September 17, 2008 - Peel Regional Police - X26 - tasered 2 times - the inquest jury will determine the official cause of death, however, “the forensic evidence indicated that the force used by the officers, including the Taser discharge, did not contribute to his death"

27. Trevor Grimolfson, 38 - Edmonton, AB - October 29, 2008, X26 - According to sources, after he was pepper sprayed, Trevor was tasered directly on the chest 5 times and tasered on the back of the neck 2 more times - Edmonton police said he was only tasered 2 times but testing on the tasers proves otherwise - "Official" cause of death: excited delirium brought on by drugs

29. Grant William Prentice, 40 - Brooks, AB - May 6, 2009 - RCMP - tasered 2 times - "Official" cause of death: acute cocaine toxicity and "the medical examiner also concluded the taser did not play a role in the death"

Ain't it the truth!

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80% percent of the population could be moved in either direction

Human rights activist Susan Sontag, when asked what she had learned from the Holocaust, said that 10 percent of any population is cruel, no matter what, and that 10 percent is merciful, no matter what, and that the remaining 80 percent could be moved in either direction.

THE Successes AREN'T the Problem

"The issue is not whether or not the taser can be used in a high percentage of cases to reduce death and/or physical trauma to officers and civilians alike. The issue is whether or not it's OK to kill the rest through ignorance and rationalization just because it's a small percentage ... The successes aren't the problem - the failures are. They're being told that tasers are nonlethal, so they blast away until people can't move. They're killing people by accident." Dave Siegler, father of Raymond Siegler, who died on February 12, 2004

The artistic side of Robert Bagnell

WE KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE

ROBERT ANGLEN

Robert Anglen, a reporter with The Arizona Republic, documented the first 167 Taser-related deaths. Mr. Anglen launched a journalistic investigation of Taser International, linking the Taser to multiple deaths, among other eye-openers.

At the 2005 Arizona Press Club Awards, Mr. Anglen won first place in the Investigative reporting category. He was the recipient of the Don Bolles Award for his report entitled "Taser tied to 'independent' study that backs stun gun'. “As part of an extraordinarily thorough investigation of Taser International, Anglen uncovered ‘smoking gun’ documents that showed the manufacturer was heavily involved in the key study that purported the devices are safe. Anglen also uncovered conflicts of interest and documented wide-spread problems with Taser safety — a matter of national and international public interest.”

In 2006, Mr. Anglen was a runner up for the Arizona Press Club's Virg Hill Journalist of the Year award. Peter Bhatia of The Oregonian wrote “Robert Anglen is an investigative reporter, pure and simple. Clearly, he is a reporter who, once he sinks his teeth into something, stays with it until the story is done. His ongoing work around the company that makes Tasers speaks to that."